About Jeff DeGraff

The Journey: Building a School of Thought

Jeff’s career represents a deliberate construction of a comprehensive innovation philosophy—each phase building the frameworks, testing grounds, and practical applications that now form his complete School of Thought.

Early Foundations (1970s-1980s): Developing the Framework

The intellectual foundation began with Jeff’s independent study work with Rudolf Arnheim when he was a Master’s student at the University of Michigan. Jeff met Andrea Warfield, one of Robert Quinn’s PhD students, who introduced the two due to their shared interests. Jeff began collaborating with Quinn, Kim Cameron, and John Rohrbaugh. Their collaboration produced the Competing Values Framework—recognizing that organizational effectiveness emerges from balancing four competing quadrants (Create, Compete, Control, Collaborate) rather than optimizing a single dimension.

This early work established the core insight that would define Jeff’s entire career: innovation thrives on productive tension between opposing values, not on consensus. The framework became one of the most widely cited models in organizational science and remains foundational to understanding how different innovation practices interact.

Building the Laboratory (1990s): Academic Platform & Corporate Testing

Theme: Establishing the dual practice of teaching and building

Joining Ross School of Business in 1990 provided the perfect platform for developing what Jeff calls the “pracademic” approach—simultaneously teaching innovation theory while testing it through corporate consulting. This decade saw the framework expand into practical innovation tools.

Key developments included launching flagship MBA courses that became laboratories for innovation education, establishing relationships with Fortune 500 companies that would become ongoing testing grounds, and beginning to map organizational “innovation patterns” that would evolve into the Innovation Genome™ concept. The Competing Values Framework was being applied not just to study organizations, but to actively transform them.

This period also saw publications like Creativity at Work (2002) and Leading Innovation (2006) that translated the framework into accessible business practices, extending Jeff’s influence beyond academia into corporate leadership development.

Scaling the Ecosystem (2000s): Infrastructure and Public Voice

Theme: Creating permanent institutions and democratizing innovation

The founding of the Innovatrium in 2004 marked a critical turning point—creating a physical and intellectual innovation laboratory where the frameworks could be continuously tested and refined. This joint venture with Haworth near Ross became the embodiment of the living laboratory approach, where diverse perspectives clash productively to generate breakthrough solutions.

Simultaneously, Jeff began democratizing systematic innovation through public media—hosting PBS’s “Innovation You” and contributing to NPR, bringing the School of Thought to mainstream audiences. Being named an original LinkedIn Influencer in 2007 extended this reach globally.

The 2008 launch of partnerships with the U.S. Air Force opened a new testing ground for innovation frameworks in military contexts, demonstrating how the Competing Values Framework applies across radically different organizational cultures. This work would eventually scale to NATO forces and military institutions across 45+ countries.

Codifying the Philosophy (2010s): Public Scholar & Framework Refinement

Theme: Translating frameworks into accessible knowledge

This decade focused on making the innovation frameworks accessible beyond elite business schools and Fortune 500 boardrooms. Innovation You (2011) translated organizational innovation principles into personal development strategies, demonstrating how the Innovation Code™ applies at individual scales.

Jeff’s expanding media presence through NPR’s “The Next Idea” and regular contributions to Psychology Today, Inc., and Big Think brought innovation thinking to millions. High-profile keynotes including TED-MED and the Mackinac Policy Conference positioned Jeff as the public face of systematic innovation.

Crucially, this period saw the deepening of military partnerships as innovation became recognized as a strategic defense capability. Jeff’s work with the Air Force, NATO, and allied forces demonstrated how the Innovation Genome™ could be adapted across vastly different institutional contexts, validating the universality of the framework.

Global Movement (2020s): Innovation as Comprehensive System

Theme: Completing the intellectual architecture

The 2020s mark the full maturation of Jeff’s School of Thought. The Creative Mindset (2020) codified the six essential skills for developing innovation talent, while The Art of Change (2025) introduced the Paradox Cycle framework—showing how organizations navigate transformation through stages of embracing, not resolving, contradictions.

Military recognition reached new heights with the 2024 Sikorski Medal from the Polish Armed Forces for contributions to defense innovation leadership—recognizing Jeff’s influence across allied forces. The SBIR award for TalentForge brought AI-powered team formation tools grounded in the Competing Values Framework, demonstrating how the frameworks continue to evolve.

The forthcoming Creativizing extends the philosophy further—exploring innovation as spiritual engagement and systems of meaning, completing the intellectual architecture that spans from practical tools to deeper questions of purpose and human creativity.

What emerges is not just a set of frameworks, but a complete system for understanding and practicing innovation—tested across every organizational type from startups to the world’s largest institutions, from corporate boardrooms to military command centers, from academic settings to public media. The School of Thought represents four decades of building, testing, refining, and teaching a comprehensive innovation philosophy that continues to shape how organizations worldwide approach systematic change.

Detailed Career Timeline Tables

Year	Event / Achievement	Description / Context
2000	Launched Creativity and Innovation in Business (MO455/463)	Flagship undergraduate course at Ross School of Business. Evolved into Creativity at Work (MO463), first BBA capstone.
2000–2006	Global Executive Education Expansion	Designed and delivered innovation/change leadership programs for Fortune 100s in Europe, Asia, and North America; developed early Innovation Genome™ tools.
2001–2002	Led Innovation Initiatives for Reuters & Pfizer	Customized exec ed and innovation strategy programs integrating Competing Values Framework and team models.
2002	Creativity at Work published	Co-authored with Katherine Lawrence. Widely used in business schools and executive programs.
2004	Founded Innovatrium	Created joint venture with Haworth: a physical and intellectual innovation lab near Ross, focused on research, transformation, and experiential learning.
2006	Leading Innovation published	Co-authored with Shawn Quinn. Introduced “growth engine” model for organizational innovation.
2006	Competing Values Leadership published	Co-authored with Quinn, Cameron, and Thakor. Merged CVF with leadership development frameworks.
2007	Named Original LinkedIn Influencer	Selected as one of the first 100 global thought leaders on LinkedIn platform, extending influence globally.
2008	Created MO463: Creativity at Work	Launched as the first capstone for BBA seniors at Ross; integrated design thinking, innovation labs, and real-world applications.
2008	Launched USAF Innovation Collaboration	Began enduring partnership with U.S. Air Force, creating testing ground for military innovation.

2010s: Public Scholar of Innovation

Year	Event / Achievement	Description / Context
2011	Innovation You published, and national PBS broadcast program	Published by Ballantine Books, translated innovation principles into personal development strategies, featured in national media and PBS.
2012	State of the Economy Speech – Michigan	Delivered the State of Michigan State of the Economy speech, focusing on building a statewide innovation ecosystem.
2013	Keynote – Mackinac Policy Conference	Delivered keynote on Michigan’s innovation culture to top leaders in government and business.
2013	Keynote – TED-MED	Moderated “Innovating from the Outside In” at TED-MED, Kennedy Center, supporting Affordable Care Act rollout.
2016–2018	NPR Segment – The Next Idea	Co-created and contributed to “The Next Idea,” an NPR segment on Michigan Radio, featuring breakthrough thinkers and grassroots innovators.
Late 2010s	International Expansion	Scaled programs to NATO, Singapore RSAF, and Polish Defense Forces, with Innovation Code™ serving as cross-cultural framework.

2020s: Innovation as a Global Movement

Year	Event / Achievement	Description / Context
2020	The Creative Mindset published	Co-authored with Staney DeGraff. Introduced six essential skills for developing innovation talent at all levels.
2022	Chief of the Air Force Leadership Seminar	Selected to lead highly selective seminar for U.S. Air Force Fellows. Trained rising military leaders in adaptive innovation.
2023	Expanded Global Defense Programs	Scaled innovation frameworks across U.S. Air Force, NATO, Singapore, and Poland in living laboratory approach.
2024	Władysław Eugeniusz Sikorski Medal	Awarded by Polish Armed Forces for contributions to defense innovation leadership and allied collaboration.
2024	Awarded SBIR I (USAF) – TalentForge	Developed AI-powered innovation team formation assessment under Small Business Innovation Research program.
2025	The Art of Change published	Transformative book on paradox and innovation, applying the Paradox Cycle to change management. Published by Berrett-Koehler.
2025	Creativizing publishing deal with Wiley	Forthcoming book extending the School of Thought on systems of meaning in change.
2020s (Ongoing)	Expanding School of Thought	Developing and systematizing a complete Innovation Code™ cosmology: quadrant archetypes, paradox cycle, dynamic systems.